The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-06
IN THE DENVER STAGE.
A RELIC OF EARLY DAYS PRE-
SERVED.
Old Capt. Cummings, Who Was Often
Held Up" by Highwaymen, Tells the
Story of Midnight Murder.
From the Ne,g YORK. MaH and Express.

in Denver, IOl., reached It's climax when
Capt. Bill Cummings drove the Leadville
coach out OF the stable yard and pulled up
in front of the United States Hotel. In
anticipation of the great daily event
crowd always began to gather an hour or
two before the time set for the stages de-
parture. To pass the time pleasantly, the
crowd ail of whom wore big SLOUGH hats
and carved pistols specialized on the chances
of the stages getting to its destination, and
told wild stories of the last time Capt Bill
had been held up and how much the ex-
press company had lost when the highway
men broke open the box after killing the
messenger. 1t was at this time of day that
the bar did its biggest business, and if any
one among the crowd let it be known
that he WAS an adventurous traveller. and
intended making the trip TO Leadville, he
was straightway assaled on all sides by in
Vitations to try the United States best
whisky, and advice was showered on him as
to how be should behave in case the stage
should suddenly come to q halt, and the cry
of Hold up your hands, gentlemen
should sound i'll the night air.
The stage always left Denver in the after
noon, because by so doing the country inn
medistely surrounding the city, which was
considered comparatively safe, could be
traversed during the hours of dark, and the
hours of daylight could be utilized TO pass
through those mountain gorges and ravines
where danger lmked behind every boulder,
and around any curve of which a gang of
heavily armed and masked men might be
waiting to relieve the passengers of their
valusbIes and to use their weapons if the
slightest resistance was offered.
A THING OF THE PAST.
All this is changed now. The United
States Hotel has been relegated to the place
of a second-class hostelry. There are now
no crowds about its doors, and only an
occasional prospector from the hills, whose
hard luck has forced him to return to the
big city to renew his stock of provisions,
can be seen about its deserted halls with his
feet resting againss the big stove medi-
tatively eXpectorating tobacco Juice on the
sanded floor. The glories of the old stage
are also passed 1t is saved from destruc-
sion, however, by some of the old settlers
who still have pride In it for the sake of
the dangers it has passed. When the rail
road to Leadvllle was completed and the
stage route had to be a>8adoned, these men
it down on Carmine street, Sand there it
stands to-day forgotten by everybody ex-
Cept the few who pay for its keep, and by
Capt. Bill, who used to sit proudly on the
box and steer it through dangers, the
thought of which would turn an ordinary
mans hair gray
A short time ago, while in Denver, was
taken to the stable and shown the old stage
1t is not much to look at now. The paint
has been worn off the sides, and the leather
curtains, which used to be neatly rolled up,
now hang down and mournfully flap in the
wind. While ]. with my guide. member
of Congress, stood looking at the old stage
and trying to imagine some of the scenes
through which it had passed, the stable
Il nx,1 n,11 49, A.
though the ~ ~-comers long beard was
gray, and the haIf which hung far down on
his shoulders frooi under his broad sombrero
was white, he moved with such an easy,
swinging carriage and stood SO erect, that
he appeared some fifteen or twenty years
younger tn u he really was. What could be
seen of his face was tanned by the con
slant exposure to color which much
resembled we'll GU Id. alligator skin His
eyes were very lie hit blue and had a very
peculiar way OF pc -9tas cut from the
wrinkles in which they wei' set as though
he were on the outlook for something SEN
sational. After | had seen the look of
affection which he cast at the old stage l
was not surprised when my friend intro
duced him as Capt. Bill Cummings, the
famous driver At first Cummings seemed
disinclined to talk, and appeared to think
that my questions were prompted solely by
idle curiosity, but after awhile he relented.
He climbed up to his old place on the box,
where he had passed through SO many dan
gers, and after politely waving my friend
and myself to a couple of empty barrels
which stood in one corner of the stable, he
began to talk.
CAPT. CUMMINGS TALE,
Eyes" said he, ''this old stage has seen
many fight, and been through lots of
dangers, but the toughest time it ever had
was in rs and ~. In those years the hills
between here and Leadville were infested by
the worst gang of stage robbers that were
ever known in this region. Il was not that
they were worse than any other gangs, but
they were under the leadership of a man
whose devilish cunning was such that it
seemed impossible to corner him or even to
find out exactly who he was. He tried it
on once too often, however, and when his
identity was made known after his death it
turned the whole city of Denver upside
down for a week. There was at that time
a business house on Laramie street, where
all the miners went to get their
supplies The head of it was one
zens and was generally respected
and looked up TO. His name was Amos V.
Townsend. 1t had been reported that some
of the stage robbers had been heard to call
their leader Amos, but no one ever dreamt
of connecting the famous desperate and the
respected merchant together. OnenlgDJ JUST
before the stage was to leave for Denver |
was taken aside by friend and was told to
take particular care, as one of my pas
sengers was going to Leadville TO purchase
some mining properties and had small
fortune in his belt The would-be mine
owner was pointed out to me. He was a
Young fellow with quiet, determined APP
pearance, who seemed we'll able to take care
of himself Besides him there was only one
other inside passenger, whom took to be a
tenderfoot from his nervous manner and
the absence of any weapons about
him. The two express guards and
myself were the only ones out
side AS we were driving down Laramie
street | happened to see Mr. Townsend
standing near the store, and ] saw him nod
to some one inside, but ! took it to be
passing farewell 20 the young man who was
going to buy the miGe5. had not much to
say to my passengers, and took them to be
about rs unsociable lot as had ever car
lied. Each seemed to attend strictly to his
own business, and it was only at long inter
walls that heard their voices as they talked
10 each other
''0n the evening Of the second day we
had got well into the mountains, and when
we drove up to Banks station, where We
took supper and changed bol'ses, began to
think we would get through safely. Both
passengers got out to eat, and noticed that
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